Jerry Norton, Krueng Raya – As he impales coconuts on a sharp blade and twists them to remove the husks, M. Nur Taib says things are looking up.

The 35-year-old father of three lost his house and his job when last December's tsunami slammed into Indonesia's Aceh province. He and his family still live in a makeshift shelter of plastic sheets, canvas and wood.

But he smiles as he works bare-chested in the tropical heat, clad only in shorts and sandals. "Things are getting better now, because we now have work at the port," he says, speaking of Krueng Raya's harbour, some 50 km (30 miles) by road northeast of the provincial capital Banda Aceh at the tip of Sumatra island.

And like others from the Lamreh community in Krueng Raya, now living in anything from tents to new houses clustered among palm trees back from the shore, Taib tells Reuters he believes a peace pact signed last month between the government and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels is also good news.

"Of course I know about the peace deal. Who doesn't? And things are better now. It's been peaceful lately. I'm very happy because this is what we've always wanted," he said.

Decades of war between the Indonesian military (TNI) and the GAM took 15,000 lives and created a climate of fear that kept people off the roads at night, saw villagers harassed by both sides, interfered with business and scared investors.

The fighting was also a worry for foreign countries and agencies involved in a $5 billion post-tsunami rebuilding program aimed at restoring normal life for people like Taib, one of half a million Acehnese whose homes were destroyed by the disaster. The tsunami left 170,000 people dead or missing.

Previous peace deals have fallen through, however. "I hope this will last forever," says Athiah, 45 and the mother of nine children. "But then again it all depends on them (TNI and GAM). I see that they have a good relationship now." Athiah coordinates a cash-for-work program sponsored by a foreign agency, which on Wednesday involved several women sweeping the grounds of the refugee village with straw brooms for a daily wage of 35,000 rupiah.

With the tsunami having obliterated much of Aceh's infrastructure, analysts hope lasting peace brings investment and better, permanent jobs. "Many of us don't have steady jobs. We only work temporarily from one place to another," said Darmiati, 47, wearing an orange shirt and brown and yellow sarong.

Grumbles about homes

Community head Nasrul, 45, says he was a fisherman before the tsunami but now does casual work at the harbour. "Many NGOs or agencies came here and asked us what we needed and promised to give us boats, but nothing has happened since then. I'm just waiting."

Others in the community grumble about the pace of new home building, and the selection of who gets houses first and who is still waiting in tents. Land title issues are one problem, and Nasrul, who says about half of those in his community have new homes, cites delays in getting needed building materials as another.

Sitting in front of a tiny shelter Nurmala, 26, says: "I have been living here in the tent with my husband and two children for nine months. We built this tent. It is a big problem when the rain comes and the hard wind blows." "A month ago my baby died," says her neighbor, Zahrati, 33. "The baby couldn't bear living in the tent. It was too hot."

Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, who heads the agency charged with coordinating the rebuilding of Aceh, has said it could be two years before everyone now in tents or temporary barracks can be moved into new homes. He also said the peace deal, which should ease restrictions on travel and working hours of aid agencies and groups, will help reconstruction.

In Krueng Raya, refugees hope that he is right and, after years of conflict, the peace agreement will hold. "I don't know if this condition can last forever. I just hope so," said Taib as he shelled coconuts. "All I can do is pray."